This invention relates to shorthand typewriting machines by means of which syllables or words may respectively be represented on successive lines of a paper strip by one or more typed characters printed simultaneously.
In shorthand typewriting machines which are now in general use there is provided a plurality of upper keys representing consonant characters arranged in a double row across the keyboard to be operated by the fingers of both hands and a plurality of lower keys at the front of the keyboard representing vowel characters to be operated by the thumbs. All of the consonant characters are not included, certain ones being represented by combinations of certain others in accordance with the code used. A shift key is provided to shift the type bars so that numerals may be printed when this shift key is operated with certain of the consonant keys. Typically, one of the upper keys near the center of the upper double row of keys represents an asterisk character.
The basic keyboard arrangement of the shorthand typewriting machine is as traditional and fixed as that of a typewriter. Certain typewriter manufacturers add small features such as margin settings, tabulating convenience, rearrangement of certain symbol keys or accessibility of special symbols. But the basic alphabetic keyboard arrangement is so locked in tradition that an attempt to change it is virtually precluded, since only persons trained on the new keyboard would be able to operate that machine, and they would be able to operate no other.
In this basic keyboard arrangement, there is no means to differentiate between variations of vowel sounds. In original stenotyping systems, the designation of long versus short vowel sounds was deemed unnecessary. The two sounds were, in general, keyed on the shorthand typewriting machine in identical manner. The operator depended upon the judgment of the transcriber (himself or someone else) to interpret the "context" of the material to determine whether the noted word was intended to be, for example, "tap" or "tape". In recent years two factors have raised serious questions about the adequacy of this system;
(1) In certain cases it is more advantageous for someone other than the original recorder to transcribe the notes, and that person, denied the opportunity of hearing the original dictation or dialogue, frequently is an unreliable judge of the intent of the apparent "context"; PA1 (2) Computer-assisted transcription is becoming more and more promising, but the computer is not capable of judgment, only of determining an either/or decision. Thus, faced with the notation "TAP", the computer cannot examine the logic of the sentence structure to determine whether "tap" or "tape" was intended. PA1 "AI" is for a long A. PA1 "AOE" is for a long E. PA1 "AOI" is for a long I. PA1 "OE" is for a long O. PA1 "AO" is for a long U.
Efforts have also been made to differentiate between the long and short sounds of vowels by modifying the basic keyboard of the shorthand typewriting machine to add an additional character to be printed with the vowel to indicate the long sound thereof. Such an arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,399,769, issued to J. L. Sweeney on May 7, 1946. Sweeney discloses several embodiments of his system for adding a character representing a diacritical mark to the standard keyboard for printing with a vowel to indicate the long sound thereof.
Every one of Sweeney's embodiments involves some change in the basic keyboard arrangement, so that one or more of the standard characters can no longer be printed, or can only be printed by utilizing a new stroke or combination of strokes different from that utilized on the standard keyboard to print the character. For example, in the Sweeney embodiment which involves the least change of the standard keyboard, the asterisk key is modified so as to print the diacritical mark when the key is struck by itself, and to print an asterisk only when the key is struck in combination with the shift key.
Furthermore, in all of the Sweeney embodiments, the row of vowel keys has been moved further away from the rows of consonant keys to accommodate placement therebetween of the diacritical mark key or keys which Sweeney has added to the standard machine. This shift in the vowel key position would necessitate a significant adjustment for an operator trained on a standard keyboard.
Thus, as a short/long vowel designation has been increasingly demanded by certain stenotypists, various proposals have been advanced to distinguish the short/long difference without altering the basic and traditional keyboard (which would alienate those trained to its use).
The system for stenotype differentiation most frequently accepted is based on the concept that there are four vowel keys on the machine. Two (A and O) are operated by the left thumb either individually or simultaneously, and two (E and U) are operated by the right thumb either snugly or simultaneously. The sound for "I" is designated by the EU characters printed simultaneously. Certain other combinations of the vowel keys are also utilized in this system to represent other sounds. When the need for distinguishing long/short vowels becomes a requirement, the traditional approach has been to utilize the unadorned vowel symbol (A, E, O, U or EU for "I") to represent any sound of the vowel other than the long sound, and to create some combination of the remaining vowel keys (not already used for a recognized sound such as EU) to designate the long vowel. Thus:
This method has proven difficult for operators to comprehend when reading, difficult to master in reflexive keying, and extremely difficult for a person trained in the non-distinguishing system to adopt.